NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster baseball team earned a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament berth, following a home sweep of Saint Vincent in a conference doubleheader showdown on Saturday.
The PAC Tournament berth is the Titans' first since 2012. Westminster improved to 17-6 in conference play (22-12 overall), breaking the school record for most PAC wins in a season.
The Titans won game one, 5-2, and came back to win game two, 9-7.
"Competed the whole way," said head coach Pat Riley. "First game was a close ball game. (First-year)
Jake Vitale (New Castle, PA / Union) gave us another good start. Got some good situational hitting. Made some key defensive plays. In game two, we didn't get off to a great start. Took us a second to settle in, but we battled. We battled through it. The came out swinging a pretty good bat early and just fought through it. It wasn't as much as one thing, it was more just being competitive and playing the process through."
Vitale pitched another gem for the Titans, earning his team-best third complete-game victory. He only gave up one earned run off six hits, while striking out six. Sophomore
Carter Chinn (Grove City, PA / Grove City) scored the first runs of the game in the second inning off a two-run blast over the right field fence, his second home run of the year. Saint Vincent (22-11, 18-5 PAC) tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the sixth. Senior
Matt Costello (New Castle, PA / Union Area) singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom half of the sixth and did not look back. Chinn tacked on two more RBIs – this time off a single in the sixth for insurance runs.
The Bearcats took an early 3-0 lead in game two. A three-run fourth by the Titans tied the game. After Saint Vincent regained the lead in the sixth inning, Westminster answered with another three-run inning in the bottom half, while taking its first lead of the game. The Bearcats knotted it up again, 6-6, in the seventh, but once again, the Titans responded with three runs in bottom half; senior
James Diamond (Moon Twp, PA / Moon Area) highlighted the inning with a two-run single. Senior
Logan Minch (Grove City, PA / Grove City Area) held off the Bearcats the rest of the way, only allowing one run in 2.1 innings of relief to stay perfect with a 4-0 record on the mound.
The Titans will travel to Saint Vincent on Monday, May 2 at 4 p.m. (rescheduled from Sunday, May 1).
